Analysis of Fe(II)-Ni(II) Electrochemical Reduction Process and Electrodeposition of FeNi Films

The effects of boric acid and ammonium sulfate on the electrochemical reduction process of Fe(II) Ni(II) were studied. A series of FeNi thin films were prepared by electrodeposition with different current density and Fe(II) concentration in solution. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) results show that the reduction current of Fe(II) is higher than that of Ni(II) at the same concentration of Fe(II) and Ni(II) as well as the same electrodeposition parameters. Adding H3BO3 to Fe(II) Ni(II) solution is beneficial to obtain brighter and compact coating, and adding (NH4)(2)SO4 is beneficial to obtain higher reduction current density. Energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDS) results show that the current density has a significant and nonlinear effect on the Fe content in FeNi thin films. The highest Fe content is obtained at a current density of 25 A center dot cm(-2). SEM results show that the surface morphology of FeNi films is controlled by the content of Ni and Fe in the films. With increasing Fe content in the film, the morphology of the film changes from smooth and compact to spherical bulge and eventually to smooth again. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that the structure of FeNi films is controlled by the content of Ni and Fe in the film. With increasing of Fe content in the film, the structure of the film changes from FCC (111) phase dominant to BCC (110) phase dominant. The average grain size of FeNi films does not change with solution composition and current density. The results of magnetic properties show that the saturation magnetization M-s is proportional to the Fe content in the films, and the maximum value of M-s appears at the highest Fe content. The coercivity H-c is almost independent of Fe content in the films and does not change with solution composition and current density.

Automated summary

The effects of boric acid and ammonium sulfate on the electrochemical reduction process of Fe(II) Ni(II) were studied. It was found that the reduction current of Fe(II) is higher than that of Ni(II). Adding H3BO3 to the solution helps obtain brighter and compact coating, while adding (NH4)(2)SO4 helps achieve higher reduction current density. The results also show that the current density has a significant and nonlinear effect on the Fe content in FeNi thin films. SEM and XRD results demonstrate that the surface morphology and structure of FeNi films are controlled by the content of Ni and Fe. Magnetic properties tests reveal that the saturation magnetization is proportional to the Fe content, while the coercivity is independent of the Fe content.